Riff Tone

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Boombox Rehearsals)

Nirvana

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Mustang (likely Japanese, early 1990s, as used by Kurt Cobain on Nevermind demos and rehearsals)

AmpMesa/Boogie Studio .22+ (preamp) into Crown Power Base 2 power amp, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cabinet

PickupsSeymour Duncan Hot Rails (bridge position, humbucker-sized single-coil replacement)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass5.5

mid5.5

treble6

reverb0

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

distortionBoss Boss DS-1 Distortion

chorusElectro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus

Notes

Studio rehearsal (Boombox Rehearsals, 1991); settings reflect the distorted riff/chorus section; not live/tour rig. Guitar World and ToneMirror both confirm the Mustang and Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ as the core rig for this recording.

Tone Character(10)

thick and saturatedaggressive and rawtight, percussive attackbright, cutting highsslightly scooped but present midsminimal ambience/reverbdynamic, responds to heavy pickingmodest sustainuncompressed grunge texturepunchy and immediate

Difficulty

The riff is based on simple power chords but requires tight palm muting, fast chord transitions, and aggressive picking to capture the song's energy.

Sources

Smells Like Teen Spirit guitar tone settings — Nirvana | ToneMirror Kurt Cobain‘s guitar tone on Nirvana‘s Smells Like Teen Spirit: secrets behind the sound | Guitar World

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